Machines such as off-highway mining trucks, wheel loaders, and dozers include an engine that provides power to wheels of the machine via a transmission. A typical mechanical or step-change transmission is generally made up of different gears that are rotatingly disposed on one or more different shafts. The different gears can be selectively coupled with each other in different combinations to transmit power from the engine through the shafts to the wheels in a range of different speed versus torque ratios. The combinations of gears that make up the mechanical connection between the engine and wheels can be achieved and changed by way of a one or more hydraulic clutches located within the transmission. A housing is used to contain and protect the gears, shafts, and clutches from the environment.
An exemplary transmission is shown and described on page 7 of a product brochure AEHQ6553-01 titled 777G Off-Highway Truck that was published in March of 2012 (“the '6553 brochure”). In this brochure, the depicted transmission has a housing fabricated from flat metal sheet stock through cutting and welding processes.
Although adequate for many applications, the transmission of the '6553 brochure may be less than optimal. In particular, the housing of this transmission, being a fabricated housing, may be constrained in the types and geometry of available features. For example, this housing may be limited to generally planar walls having a substantially constant thickness. These limitations may provide insufficient protection from debris thrown against the machine by wheels of the machine and/or result in a heavier-than-necessary transmission.
The disclosed transmission housing is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.